Ask a black hockey player anything thread
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MeekMonizzLLLLLLe14
Members Posts: 15,337 ✭✭✭✭✭
lol i saw ? was asking on my nba thread about ? about being a black hockey player so i decided to make this thread. but nah seriously if yall have any questions about hockey in general or how it is to be a black hockey player shoot away.
I moved out the hood in central connecticut when i was around 5 to a suburban community. kids in preschool were playing street hockey. long story short my dreams of wanting to be the next jordan were put aside to play hockey.My parents couldn't afford the sport right away so i had to wait till i was 7 to start playing.
Im 21 now and am playing college club hockey while trying to get a degree. Down the road i hope to coach and work to get more black people and other minorities to play.Hockeys expensive cost restricts all races from playing but through sacrifice and now scholarhips and hammie down programs it is more possible. Most of my equipment growing up was from my dads co workers son which saved us money. Just like tiger did golf or the willams sisters did tennis i think the same can and is already being done in hockey. There are more black people in the NHL now and some are key parts of their teams.
I moved out the hood in central connecticut when i was around 5 to a suburban community. kids in preschool were playing street hockey. long story short my dreams of wanting to be the next jordan were put aside to play hockey.My parents couldn't afford the sport right away so i had to wait till i was 7 to start playing.
Im 21 now and am playing college club hockey while trying to get a degree. Down the road i hope to coach and work to get more black people and other minorities to play.Hockeys expensive cost restricts all races from playing but through sacrifice and now scholarhips and hammie down programs it is more possible. Most of my equipment growing up was from my dads co workers son which saved us money. Just like tiger did golf or the willams sisters did tennis i think the same can and is already being done in hockey. There are more black people in the NHL now and some are key parts of their teams.
Comments
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Why is fighting such an accepted part of the game? It's ridiculous IMO, and the "unwritten rules" seem to be almost as corny and wack as baseballs "unwritten rules."
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do you got a mean knucklepuck shot?
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could just be about where you are from. I mean it might be costly but nobody in my area plays hockey that i know of. not even white folks. so did yall have hockey as a high school sport?
and did you already know how to ice skate at 7? -
Also, have you read a book called "Outliers?" In one section (maybe the beginning of the book) the author did an interesting examination on why those Canadian hockey players are typically a cut above the rest. Some of it is obvious but interesting nonetheless.
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How do you feel being labeled a black hockey player instead of just a hockey player
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mostvigorousone wrote: »Why is fighting such an accepted part of the game? It's ridiculous IMO, and the "unwritten rules" seem to be almost as corny and wack as baseballs "unwritten rules."
fighting is only allowed in the NHL and some amateur levels. On occasion in D-1 College hockey they let it slide. To be honest fighting is there to hype of the crowd/ add momentum for your team and solve disputes. Personally I have never been a fan of it. Even with fighting there has to be an agreement between to people and most times its only 3 or 4 players on a team that will fight. While it still happens the faster post lockout NHL is having less "goons" and less fighting overall. Its more of a release of tension and rarely results in a huge scrum. Its almost like a rap battle between 2 ? who got beef. -
bankrupt baller wrote: »do you got a mean knucklepuck shot?
lmao back in the street hockey days i used to pull it but on the ice that ? don't work like the movie. -
could just be about where you are from. I mean it might be costly but nobody in my area plays hockey that i know of. not even white folks. so did yall have hockey as a high school sport?
and did you already know how to ice skate at 7?
hockey is extremely regional even in the state of Connecticut where I live. Youre right there are towns full of white folks even in CT that don't play hockey. My town had a high school team i played on and we were number 1 in the state and really good. But the towns next to us had to combine their teams despite both of those towns being bigger than my town.
I learned how to roller skate when i was young and skated from age 5 to 7 in roller rinks and played street hockey. By age 7 i took learn to skate a month before my first hockey pratices. The rollerblading helped allot. Before you can even play orginized travel hockey you need 2 years of rec hockey and practice. The younger your start the easier it is to be decent. I was good enough to catch up but if you don't start skating aver age 8 or 9 you probally wont be good at all. -
so why dont they tell about the black dude who made the now called "slap shot" dont ever give us ? no credit. and also why aint you in the nhl? wasnt good enough?
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mostvigorousone wrote: »Also, have you read a book called "Outliers?" In one section (maybe the beginning of the book) the author did an interesting examination on why those Canadian hockey players are typically a cut above the rest. Some of it is obvious but interesting nonetheless.
nah i havent read that book that sounds cool though. But one main reason canada is better at hockey is most of their country freezes over by december. With hockey if you don't have a frozen pond for most of the year you have to pay for an open gym type practice. But in canada its frozen ponds are a free way for even poor canadians to skate longer during the winter for free. So you have pick up games and some kids play pick up hockey at age 5 and are on the ponds with a parent getting the basics of skating at age 2 or 3 at the earliest. -
How do you feel being labeled a black hockey player instead of just a hockey player
it doesn't really matter to me being called just a hockey player or a black hockey player personally. but part of being labled a black hockey player is the hope that maybe one day people will be just hockey players because the game will have more diversity. less people in general are playing hockey but the small percentage of black hockey players are having huge success as far as making it to the pros. -
....My Uncle is Willie O'ree.
Keep doing your thing bruh. I salute you.
*Salutes*
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Fighting keeps the game clean, as weird as it sounds. But there are hacks who play 1:30 a game just to head hunt and fight on certain teams.
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louisvillecardinal wrote: »so why dont they tell about the black dude who made the now called "slap shot" dont ever give us ? no credit. and also why aint you in the nhl? wasnt good enough?
thats history in general...there are hella inventions and milestones black people have done that is "hidden". I am not in the nhl because I am simply not good enough to play. i was realistic about that and went to school for a degree. long story short a kid on my high school team was all state player of the year for the state of CT and he is also playing in the same club hockey league as me. the majority of players in the NHL are from canada where programs are more advanced and players start skating earlier. I started skating at 7 so just because of that the odds are slim. Most nhl players are skating by age 3 or 4 . most players from america that go to the NHL don't play public high school hockey and go to prep schools. those leagues are on a whole other level.
but here is a video about black hockey players in canada
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*I.B. Blackman* wrote: »....My Uncle is Willie O'ree.
Keep doing your thing bruh. I salute you.
*Salutes*
appreciate it man....do you by chance know his mailing address cause i have been trying to write to him for a while. he has been an inspiration to me continuing to play hockey. even wore 22 in youth hockey because of him. -
How much racism do you deal with, being a black hockey player? like that one
case of some random idiot throwing a ? a banana. -
how cold is on the ice during a game? ? if we had hockey i would have played been the dude just skating around ti knock somebody down
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how cold is on the ice during a game? ? if we had hockey i would have played been the dude just skating around ti knock somebody down
it depends on if its a old rink or a new rink. Older rinks can get cold as ? mid winter and sometimes affects how you play because your toes can go numb and hands get to a numb point so you cant shoot or pass as good. These new rinks built after 1990 have new state of the art coolers to its actually can be warm above ice but under the ice still stays warm. In the nhl every rink is really hot and not cold at all above the ice. Time of year is a huge factor. In december at a cold rink could suck but august/september in the same rink you can almost overheat since you have allot of gear on. -
How much racism do you deal with, being a black hockey player? like that one
case of some random idiot throwing a ? a banana.
ironically i have recieved less than my brother. my little brother is 4 years younger than me. I have been called ? once and before i could get to the guy my team mate (who died back in high school RIP) got to him and beat the ? out of him. My little brother who is in high school doing really good has been called ? over 5 times. Part of that might be the fact white kids don't care anymore/think they can say more nowadays. Hell just only 4 years ago white kids were scared to listen to rap because they were white.
In my brothers case kids got suspended from over a week of games and coaches were spoken to of the other team after the game. Thats just how my father raised us. And honestly as lame as it sounds calling out someone and talking to coaches does allot more damage to the kid and the parent than my brother fighting back. Being labled as someone who said ? in a public place is more shattering to a white person than fighting back which doesn't do ? . Ive personally wanted to beat the ? out of those kids who called my brother that but it is what it is. -
damn good ? . but what makes canadas hockey program more advanced then ours? and do you think if more blacks played hockey would we dominate it like other sports?
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louisvillecardinal wrote: »damn good ? . but what makes canadas hockey program more advanced then ours? and do you think if more blacks played hockey would we dominate it like other sports?
the thing that they are ahead on is the culture. they have a more advanced hockey culture where generations of players have played. Even for white kids many players are the first kid to play hockey in their family. But in Canada parents are planning on their son or eve daughter playing before they are born. So by age 2 or 3 they are skating. The whole community invests in a rink and has youth programs. Some parts of even the northeast you have to drive 30 mins to the nearest hockey rink. But in Canada the culture encourages and makes hockey cool.
As far as black people in hockey the same athletic skills we have in other sports translates to hockey. There is just a stigma that its hard for us to skate. But hell i know allot of white people who cant skate lol. I do make black people cant skate jokes on myself though lol. But if black people learned to skate at a young age well they can be just as good and better than white players. Which is happening programs the nhl is setting up is leading to more players of color in the minors and now nhl. And as i said earlier for the small population of black people in canada and small number of black american players there are allot of black players in the pro level. So if more black people started playing ? would be just like every other sport.l -
How do you deal with it when the white fans spit on you and call you "Ice ? ". Also do you pick up the banana peels they throw at you, or does the arena staff pick them up?
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Michael_Malice wrote: »How do you deal with it when the white fans spit on you and call you "Ice ? ". Also do you pick up the banana peels they throw at you, or does the arena staff pick them up?
lmaoo at your ? ass still using the same joke involving a banana peel the phrase "ice ? " and white fans/ people. Meanwhile you still are a grown man who kisses the ass and stans for another grown man and whos real life isn't going anywhere. ? funny as ? that you hating on a yougn ? like me because i can man up and play a contact sport while your a grown ass man sucking Young money ? to make a living. Ole "lil wayne is the best rapper everrr" on some female groupie ? hahahahaha. Clown ? like you ? me the ? up and remind me of what path not to go down. -
In Canada we skate on frozen lakes in the winter
word see in my region of the northeast its shaky for lakes but ponds freeze for parts of the winter -
Monizzle14 wrote: »lmaoo at your ? ass still using the same joke involving a banana peel the phrase "ice ? " and white fans/ people. Meanwhile you still are a grown man who kisses the ass and stans for another grown man and whos real life isn't going anywhere. ? funny as ? that you hating on a yougn ? like me because i can man up and play a contact sport while your a grown ass man sucking Young money ? to make a living. Ole "lil wayne is the best rapper everrr" on some female groupie ? hahahahaha. Clown ? like you ? me the ? up and remind me of what path not to go down.
Yo, I asked a serious question B, and this what I get??? WTF man. I'm tryin to see how you deal with ? .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2QZm8llvig
